Innovative agricultural irrigation pays off

Jul 2011

Italy

In the face of a growing world population and
limited water resources how do countries safeguard
their future food production? Countries
such as India, for example, currently use over
80% of the available water supply to irrigate crops
and most farmers still use inefficient flood irrigation
methods fed by open water channels. Even in
parts of Europe there are concerns about the
water consumed by agriculture and in particular
how efficiently this valuable resource is used in
irrigating crops.

This concern prompted a group of companies
including Acquedotto Pugliese, ANBI, Borealis,
Federutility, Irritec & Siplast, Nestlè, Ritmo and
SAB to sponsor a project by the Althesys Strategic
Consultants house in Milan to evaluate the effects
of a water saving strategy in Italian agriculture
through a cost benefit analysis.

The project was started in the middle of 2010
under the direction of Alessandro Marangoni,
Professor at the Bocconi University in Milan, and
the findings were presented at a conference held
in Rome, Italy, in February 2011. The conference
brought together high-ranking stakeholders triggering
important discussions and resulting in a
commitment to cooperate on an action plan to
work towards the study’s recommendations.

An overhaul of irrigation systems could save 17 billion EUR in Italy alone over the next 30 years

The study estimated the financial benefits of different
water management strategies within the
Italian agricultural industry including the cost savings
due to reduced water usage, environmental
savings due to the reduced exploitation of water
and the social benefits from an improved environment
and a more competitive agricultural industry.
These strategies were grouped into the following
four critical categories.

Financial benefits of different water management strategies

1. The use of the most efficient irrigation
methods:
In this category the team identified
where old irrigation systems could be replaced
with the most efficient drip and micro-spray systems.
This enabled them to estimate the financial
benefits of the water reduction and environmental
and social factors less the cost of the investment.
For Italy this translates into a financial gain of some
4.3 billion EUR over a time period of thirty years.

2. The use of the latest business management
models: In Italy information technology is available
from the Water Reclamation Consortium which
would enable individual farmers to optimise the
use of their irrigation system based on the overall
evaluation of meteorological, agronomic, geological
and other pertinent data. The potential water
savings to be achieved in this area alone are worth
around 3.2 billion EUR.

3. The use of the latest technologies in irrigation
management: Computer controlled water
delivery units provide yet another step in reducing
water consumption and increasing crop yield per
litre and in Italy could provide benefits to the tune
of 1.1 billion EUR.

4. Improving the quality of the water supply
systems: Over 72% of the water for irrigation in
Italy is transmitted to the fields in open channels
which typically lose 60% of the water they carry due
to evaporation and seepage. Repairing the existing
water transportation pipes and replacing the open
channels with new pipes would yield yet another
8.7 billion EUR of savings over the investment cost.

Water for the World™ – Borealis and Borouge commitment to tackle the global water challenge

The Italian study on agricultural irrigation practices
was conducted as part of Water for the World, a
programme established by Borealis and Borouge
for the purpose of contributing solutions to global
water challenges.

“

Food security and water efficiency
are closely linked. There is an urgent need
for the establishment of new water management
policies due to the growing scarcity of water resources
and the risks it presents for food security

Cino Serrao —Borealis Business Development Manager

says Cino Serrao, Borealis Business Development
Manager.

“

That is why we have supported this important
study as part of our Water for the World
engagement and why we intend to act on its
findings.

Cino Serrao —Borealis Business Development Manager

This methodology and many of the conclusions can
be applied to many other countries around the world
that are facing water shortages and Borealis and
Borouge will investigate how we can use the study
in other countries.

Established in 2007, Water for the World, Borealis
and Borouge Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
programme, aims to address the global water challenge
encompassing social, environmental and
business initiatives such as water access projects,
awareness raising and the promotion of best
practices.